This invention relates to compacts, and in an important specific sense is particularly directed to compacts for containing cosmetics for application by an end user.
For purposes of illustration, the invention will be described herein as embodied in compacts for cosmetics, it being understood, however, that its broader aspects the invention is not limited thereto but may be embodied in compacts for containing other types of materials as well.
Many cosmetics materials, including face powders, foundations, eye shadows, blushes, and some lipsticks and mascaras, are commonly placed (for retail sale and subsequent end use) in containers known as compacts. A conventional compact includes a base formed as a tray with one or more upwardly open recesses for holding the cosmetic material in compressed or like stable condition, and a cover for overlying the base and enclosing the tray to prevent the contents from drying out, becoming contaminated, spilling, or soiling outside objects. One or more brushes, pads such as powder puffs or other implements for applying the cosmetics may also be placed within the compact between the base and cover.
In these conventional compacts, the base and cover are typically molded of plastic or formed of metal, and are hinged together in clamshell fashion along one side of the compact, a manually operable latch being provided on the other side to hold them in closed position. The compact is dimensioned to be held in the hand, and may be square, rectangular, oval, circular, or of other regular or irregular shape. To apply the contained cosmetics, the user opens the compact, draws an applying implement (or a finger) across the cosmetic material held in a recess of the base tray to pick up some of the material, and conveys it on the implement to the appropriate facial area.
Very advantageously, a mirror is provided within the inwardly facing surface of the cover so as to be visible by a user when the compact is open and the user is applying the cosmetic material to the face. Thus, the user can easily and accurately apply the cosmetic when no external mirror is available. The disposition of the mirror within the compact cover is an important feature of convenience in that it enables the user to hold and position both the exposed body of cosmetic material and the mirror in one hand while employing the other hand to manipulate the applicator.
It is frequently desirable to package a compact in a manner enabling retail customers to view the contained cosmetic material at the point of sale without exposing the material to contamination such as can occur if a compact is opened at a store by a prospective purchaser. Accordingly, the compact may be sealed in a transparent plastic film, e.g., in a blister package, with the cover opened to lie flat with the base so that the contents of the compact are clearly visible through the blister film. A problem with this type of packaging, however, is that the area of the package must ordinarily be at least twice the area of the closed compact, because the base and cover lie open at 180xc2x0, or approximately at 180xc2x0, to each other; hence the packages occupy undesirably large amounts of shelf or display space.
Expedients heretofore proposed to reduce the area occupied by compacts in blister-package or like displays have included the provision of special articulated hinges connecting the cover and base to enable the cover to turn 360xc2x0 into a position underlying the base. These expedients are more or less structurally complicated, adding to manufacturing cost and complexity, and may present difficulties in manipulation for the end user.
Other possible arrangements for enabling point-of-purchase viewing of the contents of a compact would require elimination or at least a reduction in size of the interior cover mirror with consequent loss of its beneficial attributes of ease and convenience in application of cosmetics. As described for example in U.S. Pat. No. 3,911,936, it has been proposed to provide a compact having a cover in which a window for viewing the contents, and an inwardly facing mirror for use in applying the contents, are disposed side by side. While this arrangement allows purchasers to see the color (shade) of the cosmetic product they are buying, without opening the cover, the size of the mirror is unavoidably and undesirably decreased (as compared with the mirror size in a windowless compact cover of the same dimensions) to accommodate the window. A further disadvantage is that as the contents of the compact become partially consumed, the interior of the compact may become unsightly but is still visible through the window.
An object of the invention is to provide a new and improved cosmetic material container of the type comprising a compact, enabling point-of-purchase visibility of the contained cosmetic in a manner that avoids the above-discussed difficulties. A particular object is to provide such a container enabling the cosmetic material to be visible at the point of purchase, and at the same time providing a size or area of inwardly-facing mirror on the cover of the compact that is equivalent to that available on a windowless compact cover of the same dimensions. Yet another object is to provide such a container wherein the window is blocked once the product begins to be used, concealing potentially unsightly conditions in the interior of the compact. A further object is to provide such a container as a pre-assembled unit.
To these and other ends, the present invention broadly contemplates the provision of a compact for holding cosmetics or the like, including a base for containing a quantity of cosmetic material, and a cover hingedly connected to the base and having an extended area with an inner surface and an outer surface, the cover carrying a window through which contained cosmetic material can be viewed, disposed in a first portion of the extended area, and an inwardly-facing first mirror, mounted on the inner surface in a second portion of the extended area so as not to block the window, wherein a second mirror is mounted in the cover inwardly of the inner surface for movement from a retracted position in which the second mirror underlies and at least partially blocks the first mirror without blocking the window, to an extended position in which the second mirror underlies and blocks the window while exposing the first mirror for use when the cover is open, the second mirror being inwardly-facing at least in the extended position.
As a further feature of the invention, in currently preferred embodiments, the cover carries a detent that engages the second mirror to retain the second mirror in the extended position. The detent may comprise at least one rib formed integrally with the cover, and may permanently lock the second mirror in the extended position when the second mirror is moved from the retracted position into the extended position.
The second mirror (or the structure supporting and movably mounting it within the cover) may have a decorative outer surface or picture holder visible through the window when the second mirror is in the extended position. Also, one of the first and second mirrors may be an ordinary mirror and the other may be a magnifying mirror.
In certain embodiments, the second mirror has an edge along which it is hingedly connected to the cover for pivotal movement through substantially 180xc2x0 from its retracted position to its extended position. The compact in these embodiments conveniently or preferably includes a bezel having a first portion for mounting the first mirror, and a second portion for mounting the second mirror, the first and second portions of the bezel being hingedly connected together and the first portion of the bezel being fixedly mounted in the cover at the inner surface thereof. The second portion of the bezel, in such embodiments, may be provided with the aforementioned decorative outer surface visible through the window when the second mirror is in the open position.
Alternatively, the second mirror may be mounted in the cover for sliding movement from the retracted position to the extended position. For instance, the compact structure may include a tray slidably mounted in the cover and carrying the second mirror.
In the compact of the invention, the transparent window in the cover enables point-of-purchase viewing of the contents of the compact with the compact closed (and thus occupying minimal shelf or counter area), while the movable second mirror, initially underlying the first mirror to leave the window unoccluded, cooperates (when moved to the extended position) with the first mirror to provide a total area of inwardly-facing mirror comparable to that available in a windowless compact cover.
The opacity (and preferably decorative) outwardly-facing surface of the second mirror or its mounting and support structure, visible through the transparent window of the compact cover when the second mirror is in the extended position, afford further features of advantage, especially from an aesthetic standpoint. As the compact is used, its interior with the contained applicator and partially consumed contents might be unsightly if visible through a transparent cover. Not only does the insert member conceal the compact interior, but in addition, the decorative insert surface seen through the cover contributes positively to the attractiveness of appearance of the compact.
Further features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the detailed description hereinbelow set forth, together with the accompanying drawings.